Annual festival of sand sculptures starts May 27, 2017- 30 September

A huge sand city has again grown at the beach of Peter and Paul fortress, in the very center of Saint Petersburg. The festival started on May 27, on the day when our city was founded in 1703. At 12 with the traditional blank shot of the canon put on display not only the festival but also the history of our country. Great Russia is the name of sand figures festival in 2017.

3000 tons of sand were brought to the beach to create sand sculptures. The festival occupies 4000 square meters. The sand-box for kids is 100 square meters and there is a surprise there.

“Be quicker, taller and stronger” is the motto of this year exhibition. Like our great country we don’t stop and try to achieve new goals. People that come to our festival regularly will notice that we are getting bigger every year.

Last year the record size of the sand sculpture was 8 meters, this year Saint Basil cathedral model reached the height of 9 meters. It is in the very center of the exhibition as the cathedral is in the very center of our country.

At the festival, there are sculptures showing the most notable events and stages of development of our country as well the achievements in science, sport and culture.

Huge compositions remind us about patriotic war of 1812 and great patriotic war of 1941-1945. 2017 is the 100th anniversary of February and October revolutions of 1917. So, you will be able to see the sand revolutionary cruiser Aurora and the statue of Lenin.

There will be many topics covered at the festival: Olympic Games of 1980 and 2014, first flight to space, Russian films and cartoons, classical literature, folk tales and even rock music.

One of the most important compositions is the foundation of Saint Petersburg. The first day of the exhibition is the birthday of our city.

30 sculptors created the exhibits. Firstly, sand cubes were made. This stage can seem the most simple and boring one. But it is very important. After that sand was pressed with wooden hammers. Then the sculptures were cut using sprayers and special glue. The artists’ great skill and experience guarantee that the exhibition will stay intact up to the beginning of autumn. This spring was the coldest one in 50 years, so the work started a little later than it was planned. But everything was finished on time.

Artists and sculptors from Czech Republic, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, Estonia, Finland, Belgium and China took part in the festival together with Russian colleagues.

The festival will close on the 30th of September. This date can change due to weather conditions so make sure it’s still open before coming here.